Workers formerly serving Chevron demand return of jobs
Chevron says the workers belonged to third parties
About 130 former workers of US-based energy firm Chevron has demanded reinstatement of their jobs claiming they have been fired against labour law provisions.
The mostly blue-collar workers from Chevron Bangladesh's energy exploration blocks 13 and 14 said they were fired without any prior notice despite serving the company for 12 to 24 years while making their demands at a press conference at the Dhaka Reporters Unity office in the capital on Sunday.
On behalf of the workers, Mosleq os Salaheen Khan said that the conflict with the company started when around two thousand long-time workers filed a case with the labour court demanding regular employment status and relevant benefits.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
In response, Chevron took a cunning step to frame many of the plaintiff workers as outsourced staff, effectively terminating jobs agreement with 127 workers between 20 March and 30 April, Mosleq said.
However, when the workers started serving the company there was no legal provision for sourcing workers from third-party companies. In 2015, Chevron created an illegal provision for outsourcing staff and put its existing workers under direct control of Sentry Security Services Ltd and Property Care Services Bangladesh Ltd by signing an illegal contract with these two third-party companies.
Mosleq demanded considering the first joining date of the now ex-workers for determining which company they originally belonged to, reinstating their jobs, making their jobs permanent, and workers' share in Chevron's profit.
When contacted, Chevron spokesperson Shaikh Jahidur Rahman said that personnel from third-party contractors provide support services for Chevron and at all times remain the employees of the contractors. Any employment concerns are matters between the personnel and their employer, the third-party contractors, he added.
